Social Media Marketing?

• Users: 1 billion monthly active users
• Audience: Primarily Millennials
• Industry impact: B2C
• Best for: High-quality images and videos; user-generated content; advertising

Although Instagram launched only 12 years ago, the platform has taken the world by storm. When it comes to sharing visually compelling content, Instagram is where brands go. Another thing that sets the platform apart is its advanced e-commerce tools. Today, users can discover brands, browse their products and/or service, and complete a purchase without ever leaving the app – making Instagram a hard platform to beat.

Twitter

• Users: 211 million daily active users worldwide
• Audience: Primarily Millennials
• Industry impact: B2B and B2C
• Best for: Public relations; customer service; community building

While Instagram focuses on visuals, Twitter focuses on words. Since the early days of 140-character Tweets, the platform has now expanded to include an audio tool called Twitter Spaces, a community-building tool called Twitter Communities, and Twitter Moments to share interesting content with your followers.

LinkedIn

• Users: 774 million active users worldwide
• Audience: Baby boomers, Generation X, and Millennials
• Industry impact: B2B
• Best for B2B relationships, business development, and social selling

LinkedIn is Facebook's professional cousin. It's perhaps the only platform where its audience is clearly defined: Working professionals looking to network and seek out new opportunities. That makes it the ideal platform for B2B companies looking to identify key decision-makers and build an industry-specific community.

YouTube

• Users: Over 315 million daily active users worldwide
• Audience: Primarily Millennials but has a strong audience across gender and age demographics
• Industry impact: B2C and B2B
• Best for Brand awareness; long-form entertainment, and how-to videos

According to HootSuite, YouTube is the second most visited website in the world. In addition, marketers name it the best platform to build community. In addition to being an incredibly popular platform, its users also tend to stay longer on it because it features mostly long-form content – making it an ideal platform to share educational content.

Pinterest

• Users: 444 million monthly active users worldwide
• Audience: Primarily Millennials with a solid audience in Gen Z, Gen X, and Baby Boomers
• Industry impact: B2C
• Best for: Visual advertising; inspiration

Think of Pinterest as a visual storyboard that allows users to get inspiration for everything from fashion to home decor.85% of Pinners say Pinterest is where they go to start a new project. In addition, 80% of weekly Pinners say they've discovered a new brand or product on the platform. So, not only is it a great discovery tool but it's also a way for brands to build their narrative through visual stories.

Benefits of Social Media Marketing